Cut-off mechanism for cigarette machines



July 3, 1928. 1,675,351

J. M. HORNADAY CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE MAQHINES I Filed Feb. 6, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ave-M011 James M Hornuola y,

July 3, 1928.

1,675,351 J. M. 1HORNADAY CUT-OFF IECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE MACHINES Filed Feb. 6, 1925 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 ZDHULZ'I win-t James M Hornadqg July 3, 1928. 1,675,351

- J. M. HORNADAY CUT-OFF IBGHANISM FOR CIGARETTE MACHINES Filed Feb. 6, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gwvomifo r James M. Hornadu Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES IAIES IONBOE HOB-IADLY, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR CIGARETTE MACHINES Application filed February 6, 1925. Serial in. 1,212.

"This invention relates to cigarette machines, and more particularly to an improved cut-ofi' mechanism for cigarette machines of I thecontinuous rod type. V

In cigarette machines of the continuous rod type, a continuous cigarette rod formed by compacting comminuted tobacco and enveloping the same in cigarette paper is fed contlnuously from rod forming mechanism to a cut-off mechanism, which operates to cut the continuous rod into individual cigarettes. To produce an accurate and clean cutting of the cigarette rod into individual cigarette lengths, the cut-ofi' mechani m of standard construction comprises a rotary cutter which is moved intermittently into. engagement with the continuously moving cigarette rod, the said cutter being moved in the direction of and at the same speed as the continuous cigarette rod during the cutting action. To accomplish this operation, the cutter is mounted for oscillating movement on areciprocable carriage and the carriage is rapidly reciprocatedinsynchronism with the operation of the rod forming mechanism, and thus in unison with the movement of the cigarette rod.

To produce high speed operation of the cigarette machine as a whole, it is essential that the reciprocable carriage and the cutoff mechanism carried thereby be constructed with a minimum of weight and inertia to permit rapid reciprocationthereof, and that the carria e be so mounted and guided on the bed of the machine as to be operable with aminimum of friction to permit a smooth running of the machine not only but to reduce to a practical minimum the heavy wear and tear incidentto a high speed cigarette production, and thus inhibit frequent stoppages of the machine which result in long and uneconomical periods of di use. The provision of an improved cutoif mechanism for cigarette machines in which these desiderata are effectively accomplished is a prime object of my present in vention.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter particularly described and sought to be defined in the claims; reference being had to the accompanying drawings which show the preferred emb and in which:

imentof my invention,

. tion C comprises a trough-shaped receptacle Fig. 1 is a plan view of the cut-ofi mechanism embodying my inventions;

Fig. 2is a vertical elcvational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is aview of the same taken in crosssection in the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; y i I H Fig. 4 is a view takenin cross-sectionin the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 1 i

Fig. 5 is a view taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 3

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the mounb mg andsupporting means for the reciprocable carriage; and

Fig. 7 1s a detailed view taken in crosssection in the plane of the line 7-7 ofFig. 3.

As heretofore stated the principal object of my present invention comprehends the provision of an improved cutoff mechanism constructed with a minimum of weight and inertia to permit high speed operation thereof, and mounted for reciprocating movement on the bed of the machine in a manner to aiford not only a smooth and accurate running of the machine but to reduce the heavy wear and tear incident to high speed cigarette production, and thus permit of more continuous operation of the machine with the elimination of long periods of disuse and repair. To accomplish these objects, the invention comprises the improved cut-off mechanism generally designated as A mounted on for reciprocating movement with a carriage generally designated as B, the said carriage bemg reciprocable in a stationary guide support and mounting generally designated as C, the carriage B and mounting C therefor being coordinated to permit the desired smooth high speed operation with a minimum of wear and tear in service. More specifically the stationary mounting C comprises a lubricant containing compartment or section in which, is reciprocably movable a slide section forming part of the carriage B, thecoordination being such that when the lubricant containing section is partially filled with a lubricating oil the guided parts of the carriage rest on an oil film and are always lubricated, permitting a substantially frictionless actuation of the carriage and the cut-off mechanism, and a more continued 'op eration of the same in service due to the reduction in the wear and tear between the parts. a

structurally the lubricant containing sec open at it-stop and having a bottom wall 10, the two inwardly inclined side walls 11 and 12 and the end wall sections 13 and 14, these parts being made of suitable cast-vv ings, the side wall 12 being preferably integral with the bottom wall 10 and the side wall 11 being attached to the bottom 'all 10 by means of bolts 15, the end walls 13 and 14 being similarly attached to the ends of the side walls by means of the securing elements, such as bolts 16, 16. The wall 13 may be provided with a charging duct 17 through which the lubricant may be poured, which lubricant partially fills the troughshaped section C as designated at 18 in the drawings. The wall 1 f may be provided with a suitable fluid discharge duct 19; and both the charge and discharge ducts are normally closed by threaded caps 20 and 21 respectively. The trough-shaped section is securely bolted to the bed 22 of the machine as by means of the securing bolts 28, 23, and if desired the bolts 15 which serve for attaching the sidewall 11 to the bottom wall 10 of the lubricant holding section may also be utilized for more securely anchoring the section C to the bed of the machine.

The carriage B comprises a top or plateshaped section 24 which carries the operating part of the cut-off mechanism A, as will be described hereinafter, the said plateshaped section 24 being movable overthe open top of the lubricant containing section C and forming a closure therefor. The carriage B further includes a slide section which mates with and is movable within the lubricant containing section, the said slide section preferably comprising an open-ended structure having a bottom wall 25 and the side walls 26 and 27, the walls of the slide section slidably fitting the corresponding walls of the lubricant containing sectionC. The walls of the carriage slide section are shorter than the corresponding walls of the troughshaped section C, as clearly shown in Fig. i of the drawings, to permit reciprocation of the carriage, and the opposite ends 24?- and 2d ofthe plate section 24 of the carriage are extended, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 1 of the drawings, for maintaining the lu-- bricant containing compartment always closed during reciprocation of the carriage.

It will be apparent from the construction thus far described that the carriage may be made in the form of a hollow frame-work of comparatively small weight and inertia, the movement of which is efiiciently and smoothly guided by the lubricated walls of the trough-shaped stationary mounting therefor. The trough or housing section is substantially dovetailed or triangular in cross section, and, as will be observed, provides a plurality of bearing surfaces on its The slide section fits within the interior. housing section very closely, and since it corresponds in cross section to the interior cross section of the housing, there are provided on the slide a corresponding number of bearing. surfaces holding the slide and tion or movement other than in the direction in which it is guided. This constructon not only decreases the weight and permits increased speed of operation, but is adapted for suflicient lubrication of the moving parts throughout extended periods. When the casing is partially filled with lubricating oil, the same flows through and around the walls of the slide section of the arriage in a manner which causes the slide section to rest on an oil film. In practice it has been also found that the oil supply acts as a brake with increasing pressure at the end of each stroke on the slide thereby permitting a more facile reciprocating movement of the carriage. It has been found after long continued service that the lubricated mounting for the carriage provided by this construction not only permits an increased speed of operation of the cutoff mechanism and hence an increased speed of operation and production of the entire machine but reduces to a practical minimum the wear and tear of the parts incident to a machine of this character working at high speeds, with the resultant shortening of the periods of disuse and repair. Moreover by organizing the parts in the manner set forth, the lubricant containing compartment is sealed against the entry of any foreign matter, and the lubricating parts for the carriage are thus maintained in an efficient and fresh condition. The lubricant holding section Y is further designed so that any oil which moves over the top edges of the walls thereof is returned to the lubricant compartment, and to this end the upper faces of the Walls of the trough-shaped section C are provided, as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 6 of the drawings, with grooves 28, 28, which grooves are connected for fluid con1- munication with the interior of the section C by means of a plurality of ducts 29. 29.

As heretofore stated, the plate section 24 of the carriage carries the operating parts of the cut-off mechanism and the said operating parts comprises, as is well known in the art, one or more cutters such as 30 and 31, which are mounted-for a combined rotary and oscillatory movement and which cooperate with the ledger plates 32 and 33 sisting in holding the slide against vibrarespectively, through which'is fed the con tinucus rod moving through the ledger tube 34, the ledger plates and the cutters being mounted on the carriage for reciprocation therewith.

For imparting reciprocating movement a5 the carriage B, there is provided a crank block which is operated by suitable and well known mechanism carried by the bed (not shown), the said crank block having a pivoted stud 36 eccentrically mounted thereon to which is connected the link 37, which link is pivotally connected at its other end to a pivot bolt 38 in the forkedbearing 39, which bearing is formed preferably integrally with the plate section 24 of the carriage. When the crank block 35 is rotated it will be apparent from this construction that reciprocating motion is imparted to the carriage and the parts carried thereby.

The rotary cutter 30 is fixed by means of a nut 40to a shaft 41, which shaft is rotatably mounted in the bearings 42 and 43 formed in a skeletonized arm 44 of a cutter lever 45, the said lever being provided with an operating arm 46 and being fixed to a rock shaft 47 by means of thesplit collar and bolt device 48 and the'collar and bolt 49, the said rock shaft 47 being mounted in the sleeve bearings 50 and 51 formed preferably integrally with the uprights 52 and 53 respectively, which uprights may be cast integrally with the sections of the carriage B. The cutter shaft 41 is also provided with a pulley or sheave 54 fixed thereto, the said pulley deriving motion from a belt 55 which is connected to other well known rotary parts of the machine fixed to the bed not shown), the operation of thehelt 55 producing the rotary movement of the cutter 30.

The cutter 31 is similarly fixed by means of the nut 56 to a shaft 57, which shaft is mounted in the spaced sleeve bearings 58 and 59 provided in a skeletonized arm 60 of a cutter lever 61, which cutter lever is also fixed to the rock shaft 47 by means of the split collar and bolt device 62, the said lever 61 being provided with a short arm 63 which is adjustably connected to thearm 46 of the cutter lever 45 in a manner best shown in Figs. 1 and '7 of the drawings to permit relative movement between the cutters 30 and 31 to compensate for different wearing actions'of the same. The connection between the arms ofthe cutter levers more specifically comprises a pin or stud 64 fixed to the cutter arm 63, which stud is adjustable in an elongatedslot 65 provided in an enlarged portion 66 of the lever arm 45, the said pin being held in adjusted position by means of the adjusting screws 67 and 68. By means of this construction both cutter levers are mounted for oscillating movement in un1son,one cutter lever being,

however, adjustable with respect to the other, The cutter shaft 57, similar to the cutter shaft 41, is provided with a pulley or sheave 69 fixed thereto, which pulley derives mot-ion from a belt 70, and it will be ap parent that when the belt is operated rotary ing 73 which is pivotally connected to an arm 74of a cam lever 75, which cam lever is provided with a hub 76 mounted in a Stud 77, which stud forms part of a vertically adjustable slide 78, the said slide being movable in a bracket 79 and adjustable by means of a hand-operated adjusting screw device 80 which threadedlycooperates as at 81 with the bracket 79. By means of this construction it will be apparent that the cam lever 75 is mounted for rocking or oscillating motion and thatthe same may be adjusted to suit the requirements of the machine. For imparting oscillatingmovcment to the cam lever 79 the same is pro vided with an actuating arm 82 having at one end a cam follower 83, which is in cno gagement with a cam surface or face 84 formed perferably in the crank block 35. lVith this recited construction, it will be apparent that during the operation of the crank block and the reciprocation of the carriage the cam lever 75 will be actuated to impart motionto the cutter levers 45 and 61 and to positively move the cutters 30 and 31 into engagement with the cigarette rod moving through the ledger plates 32 and 33, the cutters being moved into cooperation with the ledger plates and the cigarette rod during each reciprocation of the carriage.

In the preferred construction the cam and the parts associated therewith are constructed to move the cutters into cutting on gagement with thecigarette rod, and for the purpose of returning the cutters to a position out of. engagement with the cigarette rod during the return stroke of the carriage I provide a tension spring 85 anchored at one end to an adjusting device 86, which is carried by a spring bracket 87. the other end of the said spring being fixed to a link 88 pivot-ally connected as at 89 to a cooperating link 90, the said link 88 being pivotally mounted on an upstanding arm 91 forn'ied preferably integrally with the cutter lever 45 and the other link 90 being pivotally connected to a bracket 92, which provided for supporting the ledger plates 32 and 33. WVith this construction it will be'apparent that the tension spring 85 be ing active on the connecting links will re turn the cutters to the position shown in the figures and out of cooperation with the cigarette rod, after a severing operation of the same during each stroke of the machine.

The operation of my improved cut-off mechanism and the many advantages of the same will be apparent from the above detailed description thereof. It will be seen more particularly that with a machine cinbodying the principles of my invention, the cut-off mechanism and the operating parts therefor, which are mounted on the reciproeating carriage, may be operated smoothly and efficiently at very high speeds yielding increased cigarette production. It will be further apparent that by providing the stationary lubricant containing compartment in which is movable the slide section of the carriage with the parts forming an inelos'ed sealed casing, not only'is rapid operation of the machine facilitated but the wear and tear of the parts reduced to the smallest degree and long continued operation without necessity of repair is atl'orded. It will also be evident that while I have shown my invention applied to a cigarette machine wherein the same has particular applicability, the same may be on'iployed in other machines where similar problems are involved. It will be understood also that while I have shown the invention applied in the preferred form, numerous changes may be made in the structure and organization of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing having a plurality of closed sides and an open side, end walls closin said housing. a slide having a portion closely fitting within said housing. said portion having walls substantially conforming to the walls of said housing section, and also having a portion forming a closure for said open side of the housing section. said closure being adapted to maintain said sec tion closed in any position of the slide. and cigarette cut-off mechanism mounted on said slide.

2. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having a plurality of close-d sides and an open side, end

walls closing said housing, a slide having a portion closely fitting within said housing, said portion having open ends and being hollow with its walls substantially conforming to the walls of said housing section, and

' also having a portion forming a closure for said open side of the housing section, said closure being adapted to maintain said section closed in any position of the slide, and cigarette cut-off mechanism mounted on said slide.

3. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having a plu- 'ality of closed sides andan open side, end walls closing said housing, a slide having a portion closely fitting within said housing. said portion having open ends and being hollow from end to end with its walls subtom. two sides and ends, all of which are closed, said housing having an open top, a slide having a portion closely fitting within said housing and in cross section corresponding substantially to the interior cross section of said housing, said portion being hollow and having open ends. said slide having a portion forming a closure for said open top of the housing section adapted to maintain said top closed in any position of the slide and cigarette cut-offmechanism mounted on said slide.

5. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprisinga housing section substantially dovetailed in cross section and having a bottom. two sides and ends all ot which are closed, said housing having an open top. a. slide having a portion closely fitting within. said housing and being in cross section corresponding substantially to the interior cross section of said housing, said portion being hollow and having open ends, said slide'having a portion forming a closure for said open top of the housing section adapted tomaintain said top closed in any position of the slide, and cigarette cut-ofi' mechanism mounted on said slide.

6. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprisng a housing section substantially triangular in cross section and having a bottom, two sides and ends, all of which are closed, said housing having an open top. a slide having a portion closely fitting within said housing and being in cross section corresponding substantially to the interior cross section of said housing. said portion being hollow and having open ends, said slide having a portion forming a closure for said open top of the housing section adapted to maintain said top closed in any position of the slide, and cigarettecut-otl mechanism' mounted on said slide.

7. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having plurality of interior hearing walls, a slide having a portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing walls substantially corresponding to the'walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings.

8. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having a plurality of interior bearing walls including a bottom and two side walls converging toward one another, a slide having a portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing walls substantially corresponding to the walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings.

9. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having a plurality of interior bearing walls, a slide hava portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing walls substantially corresponding to the walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, said housing having an open side entirely closed by said slide whereby to protect said bearings.

10. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section havinga plurality of interior bearing walls including a bottom and two side walls converging toward one another, a slide having a portion fitting closely within said section and having hearing walls substantially corresponding to the walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, said houslng having an open top entirely closed by said slide whereby to protect said bearings.

11. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a housing section having a plurality of interior bearing walls, a slide hava portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing walls substantially corresponding to the walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, said housing being closed except for an opening through which the said slide projects and the slide having a closure element adapted to close the said opening in any position of the slide.

12. In a cigarette machine, a slide support,

comprising a housing section having a plurality of lnterlor bearing walls, a slide having a portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing Walls substanslide projects and the slide having a closure element adapted to close the said opening in any position'of the slide and having a top bearing on the edges of the housing at said opening.

rality of interior bearing wallsincluding a j bottom and two side walls converging toward one another, a slide having a portion fitting closely within said section and having bearing walls substantially corresponding to the walls thereof whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, said housing being closed except for, a top opening through which the said slide projects and the slide having a closure element adapted to close the' said opening in any position of the slide and having a top bearing on the edges of the housing at said opening.

7 15. In a-cigarette machine a slide support comprising a substantially trougl'i-shaped section having a substantially open top and a plurality of interior bearing walls angularly disposed relative to one another, a

reciprocable carriage having a portion ex tending into said section through said opening and provided with bearing walls mating with the said interior walls, whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, and cigarette cut-off mechanism mounted on said carriage.

16. In a cigarette machine, a slide support comprising a substantially trough-shaped section having a substantially open top and a plurality of interior bearing wallsangularly disposed relative to one another, a rec'iprocable carriage having a portion extending into said section through said opening and provided with bearing walls mating with the said interior walls, whereby to provide a plurality of surface bearings, and cigarette cut-oil mechanism mounted on said carriage, said section and carriage portion being substantially dovetailed in cross section. 1

Signed at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, this 3rd day of February A; D. 1925.

JAMES MONROE HORNADAY.

Ill 

